Bafana Bafana forward Percy Tau came off the bench for Al Ahly as they returned to winning ways after thrashing Ittihad 3-0 at Borg Al Arab Stadium on Sunday evening.
Youthful Ahmed Ghareb scored in the 36th minute and 47th minute on his debut, sandwiching Ziad Tarek’s 44th-minute effort.
Tau eventually replaced Tarek in the 65th minute while the Reds led 3-0 in the South African’s second appearance since he recovered from an injury that had sidelined him for over a month.
The result saw the third-placed Al Ahly remain in sight of runaway Egyptian Premier League leaders Zamalek who have a 10-point cushion over their Cairo rivals, who have a game in hand.
Al Ahly management had given under pressure coach Ricardo Soares the licence to feature youth team players and those from the fringes in the remaining games of the league due to fixture jam which has seen the team’s players struggling due to burnout and injuries.
The Portuguese mentor obliged, leaving seven first-team players such as Luis Miquissone and Tau on the bench, a move the coach, in a post-match interview, said freshened things up, resulting in the win.
“Playing a match every three days is a very difficult thing, as it causes a lot of injuries for the players. We faced a lot of difficulties this season, but we will correct our mistakes, and we will prepare very well for the next season,” Soares told the club’s official website.
“Our young players still have a lot to do, and we were keen to rotate them to avoid them from getting injured. We managed to score early tonight, unlike the previous games, and this helped us to control the game’s tempo.”
The Portuguese has now managed five wins, two defeats, and two draws across all competitions in charge of the team, which might finish the season empty-handed.
Soares replaced celebrated South African coach Pitso Mosimane who resigned two months ago due to pressure of managing the very demanding club, which he steered to two CAF Champions League titles before missing out on a third following a 2-0 loss to Wydad Casablanca in the final.
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